Family Tree # 5
Image Comics
Written by: Jeff Lemire
Art by: Phil Hester, Eric Gapstur & Ryan Cody
PURCHASE HERE
“Remember when everything was boring”. Those are the opening lines to Issue # 5 of Image Comics Family Tree. Yeah, I think at this moment the whole world can think back to when things were boring. That mindset sets the tone for this issue. Things change, we get it but sometimes the impact of that change is so large in scale you wonder why, how you could ever take anything for granted.
After a flashback to a time when she took things for granted, Jeff Lemire brings the reader back to our current situation. We find mom Loretta holding Meg while the child reels in pain from an unknown affliction. Hester’s art captures both the physical pain Meg is experiencing and the mental anguish her mom is feeling. A frantic race to get Meg to help is unfortunately too little too late. Every moment of this issue is paced perfectly leaving little time for the reader to experience any lag.
This issue resonates on so many levels. It is painfully heartbreaking to read. It is completely relatable and relevant. Family Tree # 5 forces you to look into the face of what you have to lose, and learn before you actually do.